1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag device for a front passenger seat adapted to be mounted on an instrument panel located in front of a front passenger seat of a vehicle and including an airbag housed in a folded-up configuration for rearward deployment.
2. Description of Related Art
JP Sho 56-67649, as well as JP Hei 5-116583 and JP Hei 6-72276, discloses a known airbag device for a front passenger seat which includes in an airbag, in addition to a main bag section for protecting a passenger seated in a front passenger seat, a center bag section which is inflatable on an inboard side of the main bag section in a width direction of a vehicle for protecting a passenger seated between the driver's seat and the front passenger seat.
In this conventional airbag device, when the airbag inflates with an inflation gas fed from an inflator and emerges from a housing in an initial stage of deployment, it unfurls the center bag section rearward and toward an inboard direction in a left and right direction from a side of the housing. However, since the front end region of the center bag section is not connected to the housing, it cannot help protruding obliquely rearward considerably in an initial stage of deployment and then rebounding forward in such a manner as to shrink forward while expanding in a vehicle width direction. If such a rebounding behavior is repeated, it would take a while for the airbag to form a fully deployed contour ready for cushioning a passenger, and therefore, such an airbag device has a room for improvement in quickness of deployment.